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Man guilty of killing

Almost exactly six years after the stabbing death of Ernesto Smith in a Bromley-Heath housing development parking lot, one of his friends pleaded guilty to the killing on April 20.

Michael Riley Jr., 29, of Roxbury was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter in the April 23, 2001 stabbing.

According to prosecutors, the men began that evening with friendly drinking and socializing on the steps of 130 Heath St. But then they began to argue. The situation escalated into a physical fight in the parking lot, where Riley pulled a knife and stabbed Smith in the neck. Smith, 26, died the following day.

“He was like a best friend. Things got out of control,” Riley reportedly said in court.

“This case was simply tragic,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley in a press statement.